Elevator.



c. A. LARSON.

ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.25. 1915.

1 1 59,237, Patented N 0?. 2, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES l/VI/E/V TOR Carl A. Larson A TTOR/I/EYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH60., WASHINGTON, D. C.

c. A. LARSON.

ELEVATO R. APPLICATION FILED IAN-25. l-9l5.

Patented Nov. 2, 1915.

'3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IIVI/E/VTOH Cori Mason A ron/VH8 COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,. WASHINGTON, u.c.

c. A. LARSON.

ELEVATOR. APPLICATION FILED JAN.25. mfs.

Patented N W. 2, 1915.

3 SHEETS SHEET 3.

, n 7 o 5 R r m m .J R 3 M F 2 a W 5 7 I nunflnnnuuunfl rfl m 4 Q 2 n am h a 5 .|7 a m 3 y 3 IO B 5 A O a 4 FM 2 B 3 6 3 EH BEBE l lll' l.||| ij E A 4 4 L I .W. "m FillL H B 4 3 6 WITNESSES A TTOHNEYS headsuspending structure.

s'rgE caRL A. LARSON, or STROMSBURG, NEBRASKA.

ELEVATOR.

To all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL A. LAnsoN, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Stromsburg, in the county of Polk and State of Nebraska,have invented anew and Improved Elevator, of which the following veyerand having its sole connection through the medium of said conveyerwiththe over- With the conveyer forming the connection between thebottom structure and the overhead suspending structure, the use of anelevator well,

'7 rigid guides, and the like, common to elevators in general, isdispensed with- The elevating con'veyer is of a character to permit itto be lengthened or shortened, and to thls end use is made of an endlessconveyer chain having buckets; The conveyer chain lends its'elf'to theextensible feature, in that, at

' open links of any approved form, lengths of 'chainmay-be added orremoved so that the elevator will extend to the desired depth andmay bereadily lengthened as the material is removed from the silo, or theexcavation' increases in depth. The structure sup- Figure 1 is aperspective view of aneleported by the conveyer chain at the lower endof the conveyer, includes an elevator boot having a hopper and chainwheels over "which the elevator chains run. In addition,

the said structure supported at the lower end of the conveyer,carrieselements adapted to'bear against the sidewall of a silo orexcavation to steady the structure. Also I employ elements to engage thechain "con- 'veyer and extend upwardly from the eleivator boot to assistinsteadying the structure. I

-- The invention willjbe particularly described in the specific;description following.

' "Reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming part of thisspecification,

' in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding partsin all the views, and in which:

vator embodying my invention, showing the same applied to a silo; Fig. 2is a'sectional I Specification of'Letters Patent. Patented NOV, 2.,1915; j Application filed January 25, 1915. Serial no. L H- sideelevation showing the elevator applied to asilo of somewhat differentform from that in Fig. 1; Fig. 3-is a detail transverse vertical sectionshowing the lower portion of the elevator chain and thestructure-supported on the chain at the lower end thereof; Fig. llS'iLhorizontal section onthe line Fig 3; Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectionapproxlmately on the line 5-'5 Fig. 3; Fig.

6 is a horizontal section on approximately In constructing a practicalembodiment of my invention in accordance with the illustrated example, asupporting overhead the line 6.6,.Fig. 3; 'and'Fig. '7 is atrans--verse-vertical section on the line 7 7 Fig. 3.

structure is provided, which may consist of posts 1 0 resting on aplatform 10, or other support. The posts 10 in the example shown supporta hood. 11 having a chute 12 to di scharge the elevated material.- InFig. 1 1s indicated a silo A,.of' one form, andin Fig. 2 a ilo A ofslightly different form. The chute 12 is supported above'the platform10to discharge material to a wagon.

. 80. In Fig. 2 the hoodll is above the roof a of a silo, so'thatmaterial inay'be brought upward through an opening a in said roof.

In the-hood 11 a door 13 may be provided r for affording access to theinterior. I

An elevating conveyor is provided pref erably in the form .of endlesschains-14 having buckets15. The chains are, freely suspended from theoverhead structure, there being chain wheels 16 over which the saidchalns run, and 111' pract1ce,., 1dler chaln wheels 17. The idler wheels17' servethe important function of guiding the chains 14, and directingthe dumped buckets 15' ,iinwardly,'to5clear the upper edge of the" chute12, in the downward run of the chains.

Supported on the conveyer chains 14: at the lower end is a' structuredesignated gen- .erallyby the numeral 18,'which comprises an elevatorboot 19 and shaft 20 mounting chain .wheels 21' about which the chains14: run. At the upper end ,of theelevatorboot Drivemeans are providedfor the chains '14. In. the illustrated example I have shown drive'means for the lower end of the chains to be manually -o'1; erate.d,--and powermeans'for the upper end of the chains, to be employedoptionally. The illustrated drive means for the'lower end of theelevator "chains 14: consists of a is a hopper 22 into which thematerial "maybeshoveled 1 V j sprocket wheel 23 on the shaft 20 and achain belt 24 which runs over said wheel 23 and over a sprocket pinion25 on a countor-shaft 26, the latter shaft having a crank handle 26. Thepower drive means for the upper end of the elevator, as illustrated,comprises a sprocket wheel 28 on the shaft 27 of the upper chain wheel16, said shaft havingsuitable bearings on side bars 29 on the hood 11,there being additional side bars 30 having bearings for the shaft 31 ofthe idler wheel 17. A chain belt 32 runs over the sprocket wheel 28 andover a sprocket pinion 33 on a shaft 34, the latter having a pulley 35to be driven by a belt from any suitable source of power (notshown).

It will be seen that the structure 18 and the elements appurtenantthereto are sustained on the elevator chains 14, the latter being thesole medium of connection between'the said lower structure and theoverhead suspending structure. The chains may have, at one or morepoints, removable pivots or pintles 14 whereby to insert or removelengths of chains to lengthen or shorten the elevator as the material inthe silo or excavation is removed. In adjusting the length of'th'econveyer, it will be seen that only the lower structure 18. needs to bemanipulated, and that the same is comparatively light. By the describedconstruction,

therefore, anelevator of any desired length may be provided to suit theconditions, and the portability and general flexibility of the structureis greatly superior to elevators having distinct Wells and rigid guidesconnecting the lower structure, including the elevator boot with. theoverheadstructure. In order to steady the lower structure 18, the lattermay have shoes 36 at a side thereof pivotally mounted on across bar 37which is carried on arms 37 suitably pivoted at opposite ends to thestructure 18. Chains 38, secured to the cross bar 37, may

be engaged over hooks 38 (Fig. 3) whereby to sustain the arms 37" andthe shoes 36 laterally disposed, so that the said shoes may bear againstthe side wall of a silo A or A or the side of an excavation.

, To facilitate the assemblage of the hopper 19, the latter is formedintwo side sections' having an approximately centraljoint, as best seenin Fig. 7, one section. having a strip or flange 39 secured by bolts 40to the adjacent section. The inner wall 19 of the boot 19 is spaced fromthe outer wall suffijciently to provide a curved way for the buckets 15.

The back 41 of the elevator boot may be adapted to he slid vertically,and desirably has a returned flange 42 at its upper edge to engage theback wall of the hopper 22. The central portion 43 of the bottom or backof the hopper may be separate from the. sides 44, and be secured tothe'latter by bolts 45 (Fig. 1). A transverse bolt 46 ties the oppositesides of the hopper at the rear.

In order to further provide a steadying means for the suspended lowerstructure 18, I provide the hopper with upwardly extending channels 47spaced to engage the opposite chains 14 of one run of the said chains,preferably the downward run or stretch. The channels 47 open at theinner side toward ach other to snugly. engage the said chains whilepermitting freedom of movement to the buckets 15 carried by the chains.1

In the use of the elevator after the latter hasbeen placed in positionin a silo, or in an excavation, the material is shoveled into the hopper22 and the elevator chains are driven through the medium of the shaftcrank 26 or the power shaft 34. As fast as the material is removed fromthe bottom of the silo or excavation, the chains 14 are lengthened tolower the structure 18 to suit the new level. A material advantageattending the use of my improved construction is that when the elevatoris used in a silo, the elevator may be conveniently dismembered andstored in compact form after the silo has been 7 emptied. In addition,there is economy in doing away with the rigid well and guide structureextending usually from the boot of an elevator to the top.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In an elevator, elevating conveyer means, overhead means freelysuspending said conveyer means to permit the same to hang in a. silo orexcavation, a structure supported on the said conveyer means at thelower end of the latter and having its sole connection with the overheadsuspending means through the medium of the said conveyer means, avertical rocking frame on the 7 said structure extending at a sidethereof,

ing said conveyer to permit it to hang in a silo or excavation, anelevator boot supported on the chain conveyer at its lower end andsuspended with the latter by the said suspending means, and a hopper inrigid relation to the elevator boot, the back of thehopper being withinthe plane, of one run of thechain, the adjacent side of the boot beingoutside of the said back and cut off from the hopper, the front of thehopper extending outwardly beyond the adjacent side of the boot and incommunication with said boot.

3. In an elevator, an endless elevating conveyer,means freely suspendingsaid conveyer to permit it to hang in a silo or excavation, an elevatorboot supported on and by the said conveyer at its lower end, and formedwith a curved way for the conveyer, the said way being closed exceptat-its ends, and having top and bottom Walls, and a hopper sustained onthe said boot, above the said top Wall, the hopper having the backthereof within the path of the adjacent run of the conveyer and insidethe adjacent end of the said curved Way, the front of the hopperprojecting beyond the adjacent end of the :said curved Way and incommunication therewith for the passage of the con veyer therethroligh.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. I

CARL A. LARSON.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR C. MoRRILL, v JOHN A. JoHNsoN.

Copies of 'this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

